Something moved at the corner of his mouth, not quite a smile. “I’ll bring the appetizers.”

“Eli?” He paused. “Thank you for not looking sorry for me.”

His expression softened. “I am sorry this happened to you.”

“That isn’t what I meant.”

“I know.”

He returned ten minutes later with crab cakes, bourbon-glazed meatballs, and baked brie prepared for nearly two hundred people, and set one perfect serving in front of her.